Ruler.



C. H. LITTLE.

RULER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 19H. 1,274,291. Patented July 30,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

I i i?? I WMM@ /LMKV M mi M 'CHARLES H. LITTLE, OF EAST CLEVELAND, OHIOiRULE'R.

To all I'zo/wm, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES II. LITTLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at East Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Chio,have invented a certain new and vuseful Improvement in Rulers, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and 'exact description.

This invention relates' to rulers, such as scales, straight edges, Tsquares, etc., and has for its object to vprovide rulers which shallpossess all or at l'east most of the advantages, and none, or the leastpossible number of the disadvantages `of both wooden and metal rulers,as at present used.

More specifically, the invention laims to provide a ruler which hasreally straight edges that will remain straight and not warp or vget outof shape and one that shall be light in weight, `have edges finishedwithout machining, one that shall have parallel edges, Yand one lthatshall have sufficient stiffness and rigidity to meet the requirementsof'generalnse.

At the present time wooden rulers are employed by draftsmen andengineers almost universally, in spite of sthe fact that they have amarked tendency to warp out of shape, and metal Irulers are employed tosome extent,` despite the fact that they are difficult to 4read whenused continuously, aud iu a number of wayshave not proven entirelysatisfactory. i

In carrying out my invention, `I form the ruler or body of the ruler ofmetal, which preferably consists o-f a very thin strip of sheet metalIin order that the ruler shall possess the desired lightness ot' weightand in order that it may be provided when formed into shape with smooththin edges which are straight and parallel. By a novel bending process,lthe strip is formed into ahollow body having pressed or folded finishededges, the particular shape and construction of this ruler constitutingone of the important parts of the invention.

:Further parts of the invention reside in the finished ruler whichpreferably includes, in addition to the metal body above referred to,celluloid or other strips which 'I am enabled, by reason of an importantdiscovery to cement to the vbody for farious purposes, chiefof whichareto provide transparent or translucent edges for the straight edge;and

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application ined oetobers, 1911. serial No. 652,918.

Patented July 30, 1918.

in the 'case of the scale to apply the necessary Oraduations andcharacters, in easily readable form. l

Additionally, the invention resides in certain features of constructionand combina tion of certain elements lwith the ruler body, whichincreases its strength and rigidity and adapts the tool for use with atool holding and operating member, such as the universal draftingmachine.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel `details of lconstruction and` combinations and arrangements ofparts which will be described in the specification and set forth in theappended claims.

In the drawings, I have shown'botl'i a scale and a straight-edgeconstructed in accordance with 'the preferred form o't' my invention,both the rulers being constructed to receive chuck plates so as to adaptthem for use in a drafting machine, although I wish it to bc understoodthat the tools need not be provided with chuck plates, as they are aswell adapted for ordinary hand use as for drafting machine use.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is'aitop view of a portion of the scale; Fig.2 is a bottom view of a portion `of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlargedpartial longitudinal sectional view ofthe scale partially completed, thesection being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. Ll is an end viewof the same on a slightly enlarged scale, with the end closure of thescale rcn'ioved; Fig. 5 is a slightly enlarged transverse sectional viewsubstantially along the line 5-5 oit' Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a partialenlarged transverse sectional view of the scale body showing thethickness of the partsexaggerated; Fig. 7 is atop plan view of a portionof a straight edge constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 8is a sectional view of the same slightly enlarged; and Fig. S) is a planview of a portion of the strip from which the ruler body `is formed.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to (5, of the drawings, it will be seen thatthe scale comprises a hollow sheet metal body 10, which I form from `asingle piece of metal. In practice, I `form the scale from `a strip ofsheet steel very thinin fact, much thinner than is indicated in thedrawings, in order that 'the scale may have'the proper degree oflightness of weight and in order that it may be formed in the desiredshape by a bending process, and will possess the required accuracy andsmoothness at the edges,.' and will also be thin at the edgesfso that..

the draftsman is enabled to work to a thin edge.

'Ille scale body has a flat top portion 10a whichA is l slightly foffset' 'leaving shoulders 1()b at its edges. From. .these shoulders thetop is beveled or inclined downwardly as indicated at C, the beveled.portions extending .to the parallel edges of the scale.

The bottom of the scalebody'is formed vby bendingior folding thelateralportions 101 of thesstrip inwardly with reference to theintermediate portions 102l and 10C, until said lateralv portions aresubstantially in alinement with one another and substantially paralleltothe top portion 10a. It will lbe noted, however,l that the twoportions forming the bottom. are not inexact alinement, nor aretheyfexactly parallel to the central top porfion 10?, for the reasonthat the bottom is caused tovhave a slight concavity which is Yverydesirable, in order that the scale will bear on the drafting paper-"atits edges only,

' ently. 4 0

vThe scale body visprovided by thebend ing process alone with1 finishedpressed -or folded edges which arestraight and parallel, no subsequentfinishing or straightening process in the way of machining being required. Indeed by my processrI am fenabled to obtain without subsequentmachiningfarinore accurate rulers than I believe possible by a machiningprocess with such thin material. .It should rbe noted that at the edges,the angles are very acute and the scale body along the edges vis.exceedingly thin, asis desirablefor accurate work, the thickness V,beingno more than twice the thickness of the metal. It should be noted alsothat the edges of the body are smooth and rounded, andA therefore. willhave no tendency to catch in drafting paper or to cut and marrthe ,samewhen the scale is in use, and the edges'of "the metal itself are awayfrom the outer surface of the body.

To enhance the stiffening and strengthening vaction of the centralbracing rib, I provide the scale body at several points in itsA lengthwith a fastening means which mechanically unites or fastens together thescale body in a very effective parts of the feature will next beexplained manner. This and' described.

Vl/'henV the strip from which the scale body is formedis blankedrout,anumber of cirflanges forming the central bracing rib, and of a lengthequal to the external diameter of a bushing to be referred to presently.

Eachofthese notches has at the bottom a semi-circular notch or recess.Consequently, when the scale body is formed into the shape described,there are provided along the top, openings 13; in the rib below saidopenings notched out portions or openings 13a; and in the bottom,openings 13b which are directly below andconcentric withthe'upperopenings but smaller than the latter. At the right hand end of Fig. 3and in Fig. 9 I have shown the` locations and relative sizes of each setof the openings and notch.

To fasten the parts together, as referred to above, I utilize brushings15, each of which is inserted in one of the notches 13, between the top.and bottom'walls of the scale body concentrically with respect .to thetwo openings 13 and l13b, the length of the notch being substantiallyequal to the outside kdiameter of the bushing. Thence the parts of thelowerside kof the scale body which are on opposite sides of the dividingi line of the rib and which overhang the inner lower 4 edge ofthebushing are bent by a suitable. tool, inwardly alongV the inner. surfaceof the bushing, so as to form a rigid tubular support 15a vfor thelatter. This forms at intervals along the length of the scale body andbetween the top and bottoni walls an internalsupport which is fastenedto both parts .10d of the bottom wall `by means constituting in effect arivet. I then. insert within the bushing 15 and within the tubularyupturned `support 15 a plug 15b whichis'driven inplace withv a tightfit and firmly binds together the upturned portion of the bottom,wallfand the bushing 15. Y

Preferably, this plug is in the form of a threaded bushing, for a reasonto be re` ferred to presently, which bushing as shown is flush with thebottom wall of the scale body and has its top edge bearing against theunderside of the top wall of the scale body about the upper openingl3,which is, of course, concentric with the inner bushing.

I prefer to employ threaded bushings 15b in the fastening meansA abovedescribed for the reason vthat I am thereby enabled tov attach to thescale chuck plates 16 which adapt the scale for use in a draftingniachine, the construction above described constituting a very effectiveanchorage for the chuck plate screws 16?.V To adapt a scale or otherruler for usein vthe drafting machine, it is usually provided witheither' one or two chuck plates, each secured to the ruler near one endby means of two screws. Although the attachment of the chuck plates orother pieces. to the wooden scales or straight edges is a simple matter,such is obviously not the case with my improved metal 'rulers in view ofthe ditliculty in securing good anchorage for the screws.

However, by properly spacing the fastening devices above referred to andby utilizing as a part thereof the threaded bushings 15", the latter maybe employed as anchorage for the chuck plate or other' screws, and I amthus enabled to secure the chuck plates to the ruler in a very effectivemanner.

After the scale body is formed into the hollow shape described, itsouter surface is provided with a coating consisting preferably of anenamel which is caused to adhere to the metal surface by the usualbaking process, this coating being shown in exaggerated thickness at 11in Fig. (i. rIhis coating'of enamel has in this case two very importantspecial functions in addition to its usual functions of affordingprotection to the metal, and of improving ,its appearance. v

In the first place the enamel coating ceinents together very effectivelythe two upwardly extending flange-like members 10" so as to form asingle unitary bracing rib. This cementing action has the etl'ect ofincreasing to a remarkable extent, the rigidity and stiffness of thescale.

An additional special advantage or funetion of the enamel coating isthat it enables me to cement to the metal scale body, strips 12 whichmay be of Celluloid, hard thin strip metal, or other material bearingthe graduations and necessary descriptive characters required .in theuse of the scale. Although it is common practice to cement celluloidstrips to wooden scales, celluleid in the torni of strips could never beapplied to metal, for the reason that there has never been known, so faras I am aware, a process ofcementing them or causing' them to adhere tothe metal surface. By the use of the intermediate coating, the stripsmay be permanently and very effectively cemented to the scale body bycementing the strips directly onto the coating `(instead of onto themetal) by any suitable cement and by the usual simple cementing process.Inasmuch as thc strip is cemented to the scale body at all points ofitsl length, it retains its original length and is unable to shrinklengthwise, the. adhesion between the baked coating' and metal andbetween the coating and strip being suflicient to effectively resist thestresses due to the shrinkage of the strip which inl the case ofcelluloid are enormous. The strips 12 are, as shown in the drawings,cemented to the inclined or beveled edge portion 1()c and extend fromthe shoulders 10b to the adjacent thin edges of the scale body.

'lo `further strengthen and stifl'en the scale body and especially toeliminate danger of the scale body being indented or crushed by pressureapplied ou it, I prefer to place in the scale body inserts of wood orother material light in weight. In the 'present case, I employ for eachscale four separare inserts, two (shown at 17) being located on oppositesides of the central bracing rib between the two innermost sets ofbushings 15, and the other two, (shown at 17) extending nearly the fulllength of the scale and extending' beneath the inclined or beveledportions, as shown. These inserts preferably are not fastened to thescale body and the ends are so located with respect to other parts oflthe scale that said inserts are free to come and go. To protect theends of the scale body, I prefer to insert end pieces in the form ofplugs 1S which may project outnuirdly a short distance beyond the endslof the scale body and are preferably rounded, on the lower side, asshown most clearly in Fig. 3. The ends of the strips 12 are preferablycemented to the plugs 18 so as to prevent the strips being loosened atthe ends.

In Figs. 7 and S I have shown a straight edge constructed `in accordancewith the present. invention, the straight edge being t'ornu-d by aprocess somewhat similar' to that employed in the formation of the scaleand possessing many of the striutural characteristics of the latter. Thebody 1t) of the straight edge is formed from a thin strip of sheet metalinto the hollow form shown in Fig. 8. the shape of the straight edgebody (littering from that ot' the scale body in the respect that thebeveled edge portions of the latter are not here employed, The body 1S)is provided with a flat continuous top portion 19, edge portion 19" ofwhich are formed by bending the metal at right angles to the top portion19, and a bottom portion,

19", which is formed by bending the lateral portions of the strip backalong the top portion to the center line of the body or until saidportions are in substantial alinement with one another and substantiallyparallel to the top portion 19, the concavity on the lower side beingprovided as in the scale body. The edge portions 19 of the strip are asin the first instance bent upwardly into the body forming a centralinnerbracing rib extending lengthwise of the body. In the process offorming the straight edge body, its pressed edges are made absolutelystraight. and parallel from one end of the body to the other by the useof accurate dies and mandrels `having accurately formed straight andparallel sides and edges.

After the formation of the stra-ight edge body, the latter is coatedwith enamel, which .The vconstruction of Cements together the vflange"portions 19d forming the bracing rib. Also by reason of this coating, Iam enabled to cement to the edges` 19b .of thel body transparentortranslucent strips 20 which are preferably formed of.; Celluloid.These may of course be omitted, it-zdesired.l

H Y the straight edge body enablesme to employ the same forni offastening means to stiften and strengthen the body, which, fasteningmeans may serve as an anchorage for-.the chuck plate screws, as isemployed with thescale, and as described in detail above, thisfasteningmeans and anchorage including two. concentric bushings similar to `thebushings 15 and .l5a which are held together-and united to the body bythe same means as previously described. The straight edge body may beprovided also with the wooden inserts and the protecting plug at theends. n

I wish it to lbe understood that l `use the word ruler in thespecification and claims not Ain a limited sense, but in a broadsense,meaning any instrument having straight edges by which straight lines ofpredeterminedl or indelinite lengthsmay be drawn. Furthermore, while Ihave illustrated and specifically described only two types of rulers, ldo not desire my invention in many Aofits .aspects to be confined tcsuch described orms only. Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim is upwardly side by side at substantiallyfright 1. A rulercomprising a hollow body formed from a strip of thin sheet metal andhaving Va top portion which .is beveled or inclined downwardly to bothedges, and a bottom portion formed by bending` lateral portions of thestrip. inwardly at an acute angle to the beveled portions, thereby pro-Vviding inished parallel ruling edges..

2. A ruler comprising a hollow body having straight parallel oppositeedges and formed from a single strip of thin sheet `metal, the middleportion of the strip i'orming the top of the body, the lateral'portionsbeing bent back along the middle portion and forming the bottom of thebody and the Vedges being bent upwardly and extending` from the bottomtothe top so as to constitute an` inner central strengthening `rib whichextends lengthwise of the body.

3. A ruler comprising a hollow body having straight parallel oppositeedges and formed trema str-ip vof thin sheet metal, the lateral portionsof the strip forming the bottom of the body and being .bent back alongan intermediate portion which forms thetop, and the edge portions beingbent angles to said lateral portions, l thereby forming a centralinternal bracing rib.

i. A Vclosed tubular pressed sheet metal ruler having the edge portionsof the metal V cemented thereto.

upon the interior of theV ruler and away from the outer surface.ofv theruler and held together against spreading. 5

;5. \A- ruler comprising a -hollow-4 body formed from aQstrip ofthinsheetnieta-l, the lateral portionsgof -the .stripv being folded backalong an intermediate portion, thereby forming ruling edges, and theedge portions of the strip being bent inwardly side by Yside and beingfastened together thereby forming an inner longitudinally extending bracing rib. s

V6. .A ruler comprising a hollow body having` straight parallel opposite,edges andv formed from a single strip of thin sheet metal, the lateralportions of the strip being` bent back beneathan intermediate portion tothe center plane of the body and the edge portions being bent upwardlyte said .intermediate portion thereby ioiming an inner central bracingrib, the two parts of` the rib being fastened together to stilten andadd rigidity to the body.

Y '7. A ruler comprising a hollow body .having straight 'parallelVopposite edges and formed from a single strip of thinr sheet metal, thelateral portions or' the stripbeing bent back beneath anintei'n'iediateportion of the strip to the center plane of the body andthe edge portions being bent upwardly to said intermediate portionthereby; forniing an inner central bracing rib, the body being coatedwith a substance .which cements together the two parts of the rib.

8. A ruler comprising ametal body provided with a coating adheringthereto-and with a strip cemented to the coating.

9. A ruler comprising a metal body provided with a baked coating /andwitha strip 10. A ruler comprising a metal body provided with a coatingadheringthereto and with a Celluloid strip cemented to the coating. v

11. A ruler comprising` a metal body provided with a coating adheringthereto and with a strip bearing graduations cemented to the coating.

l2. A ruler. comprising a metal body having a beveled portion eXtendingto the edge. of saidbody, said portion having a coating adheringvthereto and a strip bearingV graduations cemented to the coating.

13. A ruler comprising a metal body having a beveled edge portionprovided witha coating and a Celluloid strip bearing graduationscemented thereto.

14. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from a strip of thin sheetmetal and having a substantially flat top portion which is beveled orinclined downwardly to both edges, and a bottom portion formed bybending the lateral portions of the strip inwardly at an acute angle tothebeveled portions. l

15. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from a strip of thin sheetmetal and having a substantially flat top portion which is beveled orinclined downwardly to both edges, and a bottom portion formed bybending lateral portions of the strip inwardly at an acute angle to thebeveled p0rtions, said beveled portions carrying a strongly adheringmedium bearing graduations.

16. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from a strip of thin sheetmetal and provided with a top portion, consisting of a substantiallyflat middle portion and beveled or inclined portions extending therefromto the edges of the body, the middle portion being offset from thebeveled portions forming shoulders, and a bottom formed by bending thelateral portions of the strip inwardly at acute angles to the beveledportions, said beveled portions bearing a graduated medium.

17. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from a metal strip andhaving top and bottom walls, one of said walls being formed by bendinglateral portions of the strip inwardly toward each other and along anintermediate portion constituting the other wall, and a member withinthe hollow body and mechanically fastening said portions. l

18. A ruler comprising a hollow body having top and bottom walls andformed from sheet metal, a bushing within the body between said walls,and portions of the body bent therein.

19. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from sheet metal andprovided with top and bottom walls, a bushing between said walls,portions of one of the walls being bent into the bushing, and a plugdriven into said bent portions.

20. A ruler comprising a hollow body formed from sheet metal andprovided with top and bottom walls, a bushing between said walls havingportions of one of the walls bent therein and a threaded bushing forcedinto said bent portions.

21. A ruler comprising a hollow body having top and bottom walls, and aninternal central bracing rib having an opening, a bushing inserted insaid'opening and having portions of one of the walls bent into the same,and an inner member forced into said inwardly bent portions.

22. A closed tubular pressed sheet metal ruler having the edges of themetal on the interior oi the ruler away from the outer surface of theruler.

23. A rulei` comprising a metal body having a coating and a strip ofCelluloid cemented to the coating, the adhesion between the coating andmetal being sufficient to effectively resist the stresses due to theshrinkage of the Celluloid.

24. A ruler comprising a metal body having a protective coating and astrip adhering to said coating.

25. A ruler comprising a tubular body formed from a strip of sheet metaland having a substantially flat top portion, a portion which is beveledor inclined downwardly and outwardly therefrom to an edge, such portionbeing formed from the part of the strip which is contiguous to the partforming the fiat top portion of the ruler body, and a bottom portion'formed by bending the strip inwardly at an acute angle to the beveledportion, thereby providing a finished folded ruling edge.

2G. A ruler having along its edge a nonmetallic surface in whichgraduations may be cut and having a metal body which holds the surfacein shape, and to which substanlially all portions of the surfacestrongly adere.

27. A ruler comprising a tubular metal body having a strip of Celluloidadhering thereto.

28. A ruler comprising a closed tubular body formed from a strip ofsheet metal and having top and bottom walls, and an integral innerbracing rib formed by the edge portions of the strip.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

CHARLES H. LITTLE.

Witnesses:

H. R. SULLIVAN, A. F. Kwis.

come ot this patent may be obtained tor in cent: each, by addressing the"Commluionor o! Patents, Washington, D. 0.

